Editorial

With the first year of our editorial tenure behind us, we begin this first issue of 2024 by acknowledging the support and contributions of our Managing Editor (Rebecca Powell, Monash University), Associate Editors, Editorial Board, Reviewers and Authors, and reflecting on the achievements we made in 2023. We also highlight the direction we are taking for 2024, noting areas where we intend to make further progress.

In the Editorial of our first issue, we presented our vision for the Journal:

… to showcase diverse views and perspectives. We believe the journal can and should contribute to the development of criminological scholarship by publishing rigorous, impactful, and cutting-edge research on a wide range of topics. We wish to publish the very best theory and research internationally and provide a space for scholars to disseminate, discuss and debate the critical issues in our field. We hope to receive manuscripts that are transformative, interdisciplinary, and help us to understand contemporary society. Importantly, we hope to publish research that challenges traditional wisdoms and offers new methodological and theoretical approaches. (Flynn & Wickes, 2023 p. 147)

An immediate priority for us in 2023 was to address the Journal's history of under-engagement with Indigenous and First Nations scholars and communities and seek guidance from Indigenous leaders to understand how we can better engage with, present, and promote Indigenous-led knowledge, methodologies and practice in the Journal. We appointed the Journal's first Indigenous and First Nations’ Associate Editor, Professor Kyllie Cripps (Monash University) and, in consultation with Professor Cripps, we drafted an Indigenous Research Statement (https://journals.sagepub.com/author-instructions/ANJ#IndigenousResearchStatement) and mandatory questions for Authors submitting research with or about First Nations and Indigenous communities. Additionally, we established a formalised, peer-reviewed Special Issue proposal submission and acceptance process, which seeks to prioritise Special Issue proposals that focus on research articles, methodologies and scholarship that meaningfully engages with Indigenous and First Nations people and marginalised groups and/or communities. An ongoing aim for the Journal is to encourage and support submissions from Indigenous scholars from around the world. This includes the provision of mentoring and support opportunities for Indigenous early career researchers who may wish to consider the Journal for their submissions.

One of our initial goals was to establish greater diversity within the Journal's Editorial Board. The Board now represents a broad capture of research expertise, is gender balanced, includes Indigenous and First Nations scholars, and representation from seven countries around the world including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa and The Netherlands. In addition to Professor Cripps, our Associate Editors represent expertise in Digital Criminology (Professor Tom Holt, Michigan State University, United States), Statistics (Professor Jason Payne, Griffith University, Australia) and Generalist Criminology (Professor Simon Mackenzie, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand).

Another key focus was to improve the manuscript review process, with notable achievements in the efficiency of average review and revision periods of manuscripts towards publication. This is evidenced in the average time for first decision decreasing from 56 days in 2022 to 22 days in 2023, and a decrease in the average time to final decision from 82 days in 2022 to 37 days in 2023. This is in part due to the commitment of the Editorial Team, but it is also largely due to the efficiency and support of the Reviewers for the Journal, who have been generous in their acceptance of review requests, and incredibly timely in their returning of reviews. We have included a list of those who consented to being acknowledged as a thank-you at the end of this issue.

We have worked closely with SAGE to improve the manuscript review process by providing updated submission guidance on the Journal's website to submitting authors, and developing a process document for the Editorial Team, Associate Editors and Special Issue Guest Editors to reference during the review process. We have made considerable progress to improve the manuscript proofing process to Online First and hard copy publication.

The number of manuscript submissions to the Journal increased from 115 submissions in 2022 to 218 submissions from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023. In 2024, we will continue working towards increasing the number of high-quality submissions to the Journal. In collaboration with Professor Cripps, we will seek to mentor Indigenous and early career researchers, and continue to learn from Indigenous-led knowledge and practice. The Journal will also continue to grow its social media profile, which will be underpinned by a new communications strategy. While work has been undertaken to boost promotion of the Journal through the establishment of social media presence on X and LinkedIn, we intend to focus on promotional processes for Authors as part of our 2024 plan to enhance citations and engagement with our Authors’ work. We remain committed to elevating the readership, subscriptions, and submissions of quality manuscripts to the Journal, and to our vision to publish the most rigorous, cutting-edge, and impactful research across a wide range of topics, and which encourage debate and discussion of the critical issues in our field.

Of course, our success in these endeavours is linked to the manuscripts we receive, and the important work of those who review them. We again sincerely thank our Managing Editor, Associate Editors, Editorial Board, Authors and Reviewers for a great first year and look forward to strengthening these collegial relationships in 2024 and beyond.